Pillar No 3 of the 12 Pillars of Leadership – Genuine Love For Your Team Members
Of all of the great foundations, corporations and organizations that have been built over the years by diverse leaders, only One Leader founded His empire on love. To this day millions of people would gladly die for their leader – Jesus Christ.
There is a very well known chapter in the Bible that outlines 14 foundational qualities of love, and concludes with these simple words - love never fails. This is found in 1 Corinthians 13, in the New Testament of the Bible.
One of the great dangers of leadership is the power that the leader finds in his or her hands. The balancing factor to this danger, is love.
A leader who is focused on making a genuine difference in the lives of his or her team, because they love their team will stand out from a “leader” who is driven and motivated by power.
Real leadership does not exist where there is no genuine love.
What is love?
Love is not an emotional act but rather a choice. Such qualities as consideration, caring and kindness are some of the characteristics of genuine love.
The well known quote: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you,” goes a long way when leading a team. If you treat your members with respect and consideration, you will have little trouble receiving the same treatment from them.
If you find difficulties in getting cooperation from your team members, a good question to ask yourself is – “Do I really care about them”.
Remember, love never fails.
Genuine love is unconditional. One of the greatest causes of insecurity in adults today is that the love they received as children was conditional. A brother or a sister brought home straight As in school, and they were treated differently than the rest of the siblings.
Statistics show a major reason for teenage suicides is that they cannot live up to the expectations of their parents, guardians or a respected adult in their lives. They don’t feel good enough to be loved.
Love is a choice.
It may not always be easy to love everybody, but we CAN decide to love, and then learn how to love and appreciate each member of our team. How?
1. It will take effort.
The very choice itself means you have decided to make the effort required. It probably will take some work. It is not always easy to love.
2. Learn to listen.
You cannot understand and appreciate anyone you don’t listen to. The very act of listening to a person shows you genuinely care. As you learn to listen, you will likely discover hidden qualities as well as reason for an problems you may notice.
3. Have no favorites.
One of the biggest traps in trying to lead any team or group is to show favoritism. The reality is that some people are easier to love and to get along with than others.
However no leader can afford to shower extra attention and privileges on one or two members of their group. This is one of the quickest ways to lose the respect, loyalty and cooperation of the rest of the team.
One of the costs of leadership is that you cannot befriend your team members in the same way you would your peers.
The rewards of your efforts:
When you genuinely care for each member of your team it will be easier to receive their:
- Respect
- Cooperation and
- Loyalty
Why? Because they will respond by loving you back.
Remember – love never fails.
